Budget planning sparks concerns in Montville

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s recent pledge not to raise taxes again has Montville Mayor Ron McDaniel concerned about a possible cut in state aid as the town begins planning for the 2013-14 budget.

JAMES MOSHER

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s recent pledge not to raise taxes again has Montville Mayor Ron McDaniel concerned about a possible cut in state aid as the town begins planning for the 2013-14 budget.

“The financial situation has soured,” McDaniel said Wednesday. “The governor says he’s not going to raise taxes, so something is going to have to get cut. It might end up being aid to cities and towns.”

Malloy supported the largest tax increase in state history in 2011 but has pledged to hold off on future increases as the state government deals with its deficit amid a sluggish economy.

The Montville Board of Education on Tuesday adopted lists of assumptions, constraints and guidelines and priorities outlined by Superintendent Pamela Aubin. Among the constraints: “The financial situation facing the Town of Montville will affect the town in an adverse fashion, thereby impacting the budget and the ability to offer new initiatives.”

McDaniel said he has had informal discussions with Aubin and other school department leaders, characterizing them as “nothing concrete.” He said he is not reiterating his call of last year for the department to deliver a budget with no increase from the previous year.

“I’m not ready to put a number out there,” the mayor said. “I’m going to be looking at the needs of every department, including the schools. But I wouldn’t be asking for millions” if I were them.

Town tax collections remain “on pace,” he said.

Weakness of the overall economy and job market will be taken into consideration during budget planning, Aubin said during Tuesday’s meeting at Montville High School.

“This economy is certainly a constraint,” she said.

Among the other constraints are unfunded mandates and costs of energy and fuel, she said. The constraints list contains 12 items, as does the ones listing assumptions and guidelines and priorities.

Topping the guidelines and priorities list is a “coherent, comprehensive, and rigorous instructional program,” Aubin wrote. Others include meeting contractual commitments and obligations to all employee groups.

Three budget forums are planned for January and February, with a district workshop set for Feb. 9.

The Town Council on June 5 adopted a townwide budget of $55.6 million for 2012-13 that contained no increase. Councilor Dana McFee and other activists attempted to bring the budget to a special meeting to address education spending, citing an invalid vote by Councilor Laura Tanner, who is a school department employee. Those efforts proved unsuccessful.

School spending was kept at $36.6 million, the same amount as 2011-12, after the Board of Education accepted $994,762 in cuts in projected spending prepared by Aubin at the request of the Town Council.